The Making of Mandy Moore

Wearing skintight Dolce & Gabbana jeans and a hot-pink T-shirt, fifteen-year-old Mandy Moore is a picture of ice-cool glamour in the warm-‘n’-fuzzy lobby of Walt Disney World’s BoardWalk Inn. Twirling her flowing blond hair, her eyes hidden behind hipster shades, Moore is oblivious to the bustle of pasty-white tourists in oversize T-shirts and knee-high socks. A couple of vacationers stop and whisper, “Who is she? She looks familiar”. An older man adjusts his glasses and drawls, “She sang the national anthem at a Magic game”.

You are correct, sir! Before landing her current position as rising pop sensation, Moore sang at so many sporting events in her hometown of Orlando that she was dubbed National Anthem Girl. But her first album, So Real, she has given up the Stars and Stripes circuit for a shot at becoming the next teen pop-star. Combining the requisite formula of up-tempo R&B ditties and sappy ballads with a few well-choreographed videos, So Real is not an instant chart-topper but an album filled with potential – and potential dollar signs, a fact not lost on Moore label, Epic/550 Records, which has the singer on a dizzying promotional campaign.

In today’s climate, cross-marketing is just as important as music – if not more – as labels compete with video games, the Internet and cable TV for teen attention. The more ubiquitous an artist is, the better. In the next few months, Moore will be schmoozing in Hong Kong and New Zealand, dashing through a short European tour with the English boy band 5ive and, of course, doing lots of MTV. She just signed a three-year contract with the network; her next project has her playing a big part in MTV’s spring-break coverage. All this after recently opening for ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, modeling for Tommy Hilfiger and Wet Seal clothing, and signing a deal to become the global spokeswoman for Neutrogena.

“It’s really surreal,” says Moore, exuding an endless supply of youth energy while sitting on a bench next to a man-made lake. “I thought a record company would sign an artist my age and wait until I was seventeen or eighteen before they started having me do stuff. But I jumped right in.”

Despite the apparent urgency, her management has never wanted her to be an overnight sensation. “This is one of the few teen-pop stories that is taking its time to develop,” says Moore’s manager, Jon Leshay. Although he adds that her initial sales were way beyond expectations, the Mandy Moore marketing plan was implemented nearly a year earlier, something that has become de rigueur for teen artists. It began in March 1999 with the construction of two Web sites, one by Transcontinental Media (the folks behind the initial success of ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys) and one developed by Epic/550. Then came the autograph sessions following her opening set on the ‘N Sync and Backstreet tours.

“At that first ‘N Sync show, there was a line two and a half hours long to meet her and get her autograph,” says Epic/550’s Scott Carter. “No one should know who she is, but the reaction was amazing”. After each backstreet show, Moore was accompanied by a four-person marketing team, which set up a booth and passed more than a thousand stickers, fan-club registration cards and cassette singles. “We made sure every kid at those shows knew who she was,” says Carter. So while Christina Aguilera’s record debuted in the Top Ten, Moore’s entered at a respectable Number Seventy-seven and has been selling 40,000 to 60,000 copies a week – not blockbuster numbers, but right in line with the Mandy army’s master plan.

“I would much rather have this type of slow success,” says Leshay, “than radio getting the most bang for the buck now and forgetting about tomorrow. And twelve-year-old Sherry from Nebraska doesn’t care where Mandy debuts – it’s where she ends up”. So far, the plan seems to be working. “Candy”, the first single, re-entered the Hot 100 four months after its initial entry. “After the holidays, we were one week away from working the second single,” Leshay says. “But then Z-too (New York station) re-added “Candy”, and a bunch of other radio stations followed suit. Now the record has surgedback into the Top Fifty. We’ve put the second single on hold. ”

Music is just a starting point for Moore whose handlers take pains to position her as “a celebrity focusing on music” rather than “a pop star”. Lori Lambert, a vice president for strategic marketing at Epic/550 Records, says, “When I first looked at this kid, I knew she was a star. She had that sizzle that you don’t see very often. I felt that I could introduce her to people who need to attach themselves to a star.” Still, Moore’s appeal transcends looks. “If I was a marketer and I needed just a pretty girl, I’d go hire one from Ford Models,” says Lambert. “Mandy is warm and accessible as well as pretty, which sets her apart from other kids.”

But in a world where Britney begat Christina, who begat Jessica Simpson, how does Mandy Moore set herself apart? “The consumer will mention them in the same breath,” concedes Moore’s A&R rep, Dave McPherson, who signed her after a friend slipped him a CD. “But Mandy is a singer inside a supermodel’s body, and her stardom will transcend the music business.”

But even future superstars can get fatigued. “My cheeks hurt,” Moore groans sweetly after two hours of smiling and signing autographs as a Virgin Megastore. “I wish I could take a week off and go to the beach with my friends. But the best thing is performing live. No matter how crappy your day is, getting onstage and having fun makes it all better.” Moore is especially giddy tonight because she’s performing in her hometown: her two brothers and her best friend, Bonnie, are in attendance. The contingent mills about Moore’s trailer before the show. Her cell phone rings, and she turns away sheepishly to answer the call.

“T. J.’s coming,” she announces.

“We don’t like him,” explains Mandy’ mother. “He’s fifteen going on twenty-one.”

“He’s nice to me,” the fifteen-year-old says. Moore adds that she doesn’t have a boyfriend and staunchly refutes an undying rumour that she’s dating Backstreet Boy Nick Carter. “I can’t go anywhere without getting asked that,” she says. “My parents wouldn’t have that. Nineteen is a little old. People would say that I’m a whore and a slut. That comes with the territory.”

It’s a remarkably self-aware statement from someone so young. But just when you think her maturity belies her age, the cell phone rings again. “Oh, God,” she says dreamily. “I hope that’s T.J.”

By Matt Hendrickson

From Rolling Stone, 2000